An Overdue Visit
by AlexisKeller
Summary: 'I'll love you in the morning, the night, the middle of the day, in the hours we're together and the hours we're away.' It was time to check out how Suna was doing. And his girlfriend, of course.
1. A Good Idea

Sasuke really wished he didn't have friends like his roommate, Naruto Uzumaki. People like Naruto were loud, obsessive, stupid and downright idiotic. Sasuke could barely live with him and his level of annoyance.

And now as Sasuke walked out of his room, Suigetsu lay sprawled on his couch in front of the blaring TV.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke snarled at him furiously.

"Jeez, chill out, princess," he drawled loudly. "You sure are bitchy today."

"Hey there, Teme!" Both turned to see Naruto's head poking out of the kitchen.

"What's he doing here, Uzumaki?" Sasuke repeated, his voice promising a deadly threat.

"Look, we're just gettin' some food and we'll be outta here in a minute. We're going to Kiba's." Suigetsu answered sleepily.

"Dude, are you drunk or something?" Naruto questioned curiously.

"Nahh. Just a bottle man. It's nothin'. Just get me somethin' to eat, will ya?" He yawned loudly.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto shuffled back inside the kitchen and started banging pots and pans loudly. Sasuke grit his teeth and counted slowly from one till ten. He was seriously going to kick Naruto out and lock the door. How was he going to get his much required sleep with a Naruto in the apartment?

"Teme, you wanna join us?" Naruto's voice boomed from the kitchen.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose and quietly decided to go back to his room. He'd rather die than join his annoying friends right now.

"Nahh... Uchiha's too good for us, ya know?" Suigetsu shook his head as he called out to Sasuke's retreating back.

It took everything in his power not to turn around and punch Suigetsu's lights out.

He slammed the door and fell back against the bed. Football practice had been hard today; the strain in his arm kept on creeping up again after every ten minutes, reminded him not to tackle Naruto to the ground when he was being annoying - even if it _had_ been worth it.

Class had been cancelled today - which was unusual, but considering Kakashi was his Psych teacher, it wasn't too questionable - so Sasuke hadn't bothered to swing by campus after practice.

He sighed as he closed his eyes. He missed her. He missed her a lot.

Sakura Haruno, his girlfriend, all pretty and intelligent and happily wide-eyed at the internship offer at Suna Hospital had been ecstatic when Dr. Tsunade - her med teacher - told her to pack her bags and go for it.

Sasuke had been supportive, of course. She liked that medical stuff, and he wasn't an idiot. He realized what a good opportunity this was for her, and he couldn't stand in her way. So here he was, lying on his bed, shooting deathly glares at the ceiling because his girlfriend was at Suna and would be there for another month. And his arm hurt. And he lived with Naruto. And had annoying friends that came over everyday.

God, he hated his life.

He wanted to talk to her more than anything, but he knew better than to call her now. It was noon here at Konoha, but it would be five in the morning at Suna; she'd be sleeping.

He cursed the fan on the ceiling that oddly reminded him of Naruto's hair, if only it were bright yellow - God, he must _really_ be going crazy - and pondered what he should do at the moment.

His laptop screen brightened and he realized he was getting a video call from Skype.

Sakura, he registered the name in his mind and quickly reached out to accept the call.

It was her, alright. Her pink hair was up in a ponytail and her green eyes were shining like they always did whenever he looked at her. But Skype couldn't do her justice. The screen couldn't display the light in her eyes properly and there was no trace of her scent - somewhat like oranges and sunshine and everything warm - and he couldn't feel her smooth porcelain skin or kiss her or surprise her by pulling her into his arms simply because he felt like it. But he would take what he could get till she got here.

"Hey!" She grinned happily and Sasuke felt content just by looking at her excited expression, pleased that she was so happy to see him.

"Hey." He replied with a smirk. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Nah. Just got back to the apartment. Had a late shift at the hospital." She informed him as she grabbed a container of strawberry-flavored yoghurt and a spoon from somewhere on her left side.

Sasuke frowned. Late shifts. He never liked these two words when she was in Konoha, but now, he absolutely _loathed_ them. He used to walk her back home all the time, but in Suna, even though he knew her apartment was close to the hospital, he hoped she didn't walk alone. She was too smart for that, right?

A girl like Sakura, new and beautiful and naive? What creep wouldn't take advantage of that?

Sakura noticed his shoulders tensing and his immediate scowl and stated, "Oh, please. I can take care of myself just fine, Sasuke. And anyway, since I live in the same building as Temari, the head of the hospital, she drives me."

He relaxed a little at that. "Hn."

She sighed and looked at him with something resembling adoration in her eyes. "I miss you and your 'Hn's so much. I wish I had more time to talk to to you. It's so crazy here all the time."

As she shifted a little, and the megapixels adjusted, Sasuke caught the sight of dark circles under her eyes, and noticed how she was practically swaying with exhaustion.

"Go to sleep," he said, as he he gestured towards her. "You look terrible."

You look beautiful, he thought to himself. Tired, but beautiful.

Wrong move, though. Her eyes shone with anger and she almost bared fangs. "Yeah? Well, sorry if I don't look my hundred percent at five in the freaking morning."

Wanting nothing more than to tease her, he told her with a smirk, "But you always do." Sasuke was rewarded with the sight of the blush dusting her cheeks; even through the crappy-yet-expensive laptop screen he could see the slight pink on her face.

"So how are things with you? How's class? How's Naruto?" She inquired with a small smile. "God, I miss Naruto and Ino so much."

Class isn't bad, though Kakashi's mildly irritating. Naruto's always annoying. Your best friend continues to threaten me to castration if I suddenly decided to cheat on you while you're in Suna. "Everything's okay." He answered after a second. "Naruto's... Naruto."

She laughed and Sasuke took pride in the fact that in five in the morning - for her anyway - he could make her laugh as lively as she did when she was very happy. He liked that sound. She was one of the few lucky females blessed with a beautiful laugh.

"This is nice. I like talking to you after a crappy day." She told him affectionately. "You make it better."

Sasuke allowed himself another smirk as he thought about how she did the very same thing for him. "Crappy day?"

"Oh, the usual. Late receptionists, the _nine freaking floors of the hospital_, messed up paperwork, screwed up pagers..."

"Go to sleep," he said again. "We'll talk when you're up."

She shook her head. "It's scary here. It' such a big apartment. Last night, I swear I heard noises. Times like this, I keep my mind off ghosts."

Ghosts. Ha. His girlfriend was never easily scared. Had to be a weird apartment, he decided. "How do you sleep, then." Sasuke questioned in a tone that wasn't questioning, because he never did.

"Well, usually I don't have to. Sun's up by the time I get here." She replied, shrugging. "Other times, well, I fall asleep after an hour or so of thinking of ways to kill a ghost."

"Kill a ghost?" Sasuke was trying hard not to laugh.

"Yeah."

"How do you kill a ghost?" He was fully chuckling now.

"Can't apparently. I googled it, and God, there were the weirdest things."

He chuckled again, and shook his head. "Go on, sun's up, isn't it? Well talk later."

She nodded and waved a little. "Bye, Sasuke. I love you, you know?"

Granted, he didn't say it much, but he knew when it counted. "Yeah. You too, Haruno. Now get some sleep."

She beamed at that and ended the call after blowing a kiss in the air at him.

Staring at the screen that was now blank, Sasuke felt... different than he had before. Better, yes. She always made him laugh at the weirdest things. But he felt somewhat _happy_. Well, as happy as he could get, anyway. But this was nice. Even miles away, Sakura Haruno was this force to be reckoned with, one that made Sasuke _happy_ and _laugh_.

Wasn't he having a crappy day earlier?

He shook his head. God, what _was_ she?

He paused for a moment, thinking, not for the first time, about how amazing this girl was.

The day she came to Konoha University, she accidentally spilled a Kelvin Natural's slush all over him. He hadn't been nearly as mad as he normally should've been. After months of being more-than-friends-but-we're-not-dating, Sasuke got tired of seeing all the guys she attracted like bees going after honey, and told her to meet him for a dinner date at seven. That's how it all began. Eventually, he found himself entangled in this web of creepers he dutifully fended off for her, and that hadn't been easy. Never was.

And now, there in Suna, he wondered if she could do well to protect herself.

Don't think so, Sasuke thought. The girl was about as threatening as a little squirrel. Except when she was angry - now that was scary. She had a temper worse than him.

He sighed, growing more frustrated by the second. Even though Sakura would be back in a month, he never liked the idea of them being in a long distance relationship. But it was always going to be Sakura for him, and no other girl could ever compare - so if he had to, he'd put up with it in these thirty days. Because she made him laugh, smile and worry about her, because he loved how good she was with sarcasm, because watching her in the bleachers, cheering him on at practice was worth more than anything he'd ever known, because it was cute when she made that face when she didn't want to do something, because just being next to her made Sasuke doubt his self-worth, he'd put up with it. He'd put up with it because despite how annoying and naive she was, he was in love.

After a few more seconds of staring at the screen, an idea began to form in his head once he heard the ongoing banging of pots downstairs; Naruto was still there.

He didn't know what made him do it. He knew he just had to. And it was only to check up on his annoying girlfriend - there was nothing wrong with that, right? She did say she missed him, didn't she? And Naruto and Ino? She'd like the company. And it was Friday today, and he had no classes over the weekend, _so why not_?

A visit to Suna was long overdue.

He opened his mouth to yell, "Uzumaki!"

A minute or so later, Naruto stuck his head into Sasuke's room with that annoying grin on his face. "What's up, Teme? You coming with us?"

"Change of plans," Sasuke said briefly while he searched for his car keys. "Call Ino and pack up. We're taking a little trip down to Suna."

Looking away from Naruto's ecstatic face, Sasuke spotted the keys on the the study table.

Hmm, he mused. The weekend just might not be so crappy after all.

* * *

**So how was it? Review and let me know :)**

**I'm open to different stuff, so get at me with ideas!**


	2. And This Is How We Do - Part 1

It took Sasuke fifteen minutes to pack his essentials, change into his black V-neck sweater and jeans, grab his wristwatch and hurry down the flight of stairs, hoping that Naruto had done something worthwhile by packing up and being ready to go.

By the time he was down, gazing around the living room, Sasuke was angry. No, he was furious.

He remembered telling Naruto to call up Ino, not... not all _this_. Naruto had truly outdone himself this time. He'd gone ahead and called in the entire cavalry.

Sasuke was going to pound that idiot.

They were all there in the living room - Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru and Kiba - and Naruto stood next to the couch with the biggest, most idiotic grin on his face Sasuke had ever seen.

What had he _done_?

Walking up to him slowly and menacingly, Sasuke injected as much venom in his voice as he was capable of and asked, "What the hell are they doing here?"

Naruto gulped, knowing he'd done something wrong. "Well, we're going to Suna, right?"

"That _was_ the plan."

"It ain't fair, Teme! They wanna see Sakura too!" Naruto whined in a loud voice. Kiba and Hinata nodded while Ino tapped her foot impatiently. Shikamaru simply yawned.

_Then go visit her next weekend._

Sasuke could just feel the oncoming headache. What did the idiot expect? For him to be cool with all of them unnecessarily joining up and making this some sort of fucking expedition?

"Oh, come on, Sasuke. Enough with the theatrics. We're going, and that's that." Ino interjected from behind them.

Turning around to face her, Sasuke nearly paled at the number of bags she had. What was that, like fifteen bags? How was all that even going to fit in the car? "Tell me all that isn't yours."

"What?" She asked, sounding offended. "A girl needs her stuff!"

That's it. Forget Naruto. Forget Ino. Fuck them all.

Sasuke turned and walked straight for the door. But he had to give it to Naruto, the idiot had himself plastered against the door. "No, Teme! We're going!"

"You don't see anything wrong with this, do you?" Sasuke snarled impatiently. He was fucking crazy if he expected Sasuke to take all of them with him to Suna.

"Of course not. You don't want us to invite Suigetsu, do you?"

_What the hell?_

Now that was just hitting below the belt. _Naruto_ was blackmailing him.

Frustrated, Sasuke glanced at the others standing in the living room. He needed to think fast. How had he managed to get himself stuck in this? Now that the question was asked, he needed to think ahead. As annoying as their little Nerd Herd was, it was ten times better without Suigetsu.

Naruto grinned at him triumphantly, knowing he'd won. Hinata bit back a smile, just as Shikamaru and Kiba snorted.

Ino burst out laughing. "He's got you there, Sasuke."

"I'm going to get you for this." Sasuke warned Naruto calmly, poison dripping with each word. "Anytime, anywhere."

Naruto looked sufficiently scared as he wriggled out from under his sharp glare.

Ino jumped up and down in excitement, looping her arm through Hinata's. "We're finally going to see her again!"

"Well, let's go surprise the lovely Sakura!" Naruto announced cheerfully to the others, carefully keeping a good distance away from Sasuke as he locked the apartment door.

Good, Sasuke thought to himself with a smirk. He predicted Naruto would stay away from him for at least a good two hours. Thinking about how the idiot had _threatened_ him, Sasuke started fuming again. This was supposed to be about Sakura, his insanely beautiful girlfriend, not something of a fucking bonding trip.

They walked towards his new Volkswagen and Sasuke got in the driver's seat. He contemplated the tempting idea of taking off before Naruto jumped in the passenger seat, obliviously ecstatic.

_There goes that idea_.

"My bags aren't going to fit." Ino stated in annoyance.

_No shit_. Sasuke turned in his seat, bored. "Really?"

She stood there, fuming, arms crossed and an expression mirroring Sakura's when she got mad. Sasuke sighed, wondering how long this would take now.

Shikamaru snickered as he got in the back and tried blocking out their voices by adjusting his headphones over his ears, and Ino climbed in behind him.

"Whoa." Kiba groaned as he hoisted the bags in the back of the car, and heaved a sigh of relief when the heaviest was successfully inside. "What the hell have you got in these things? They weigh a ton."

She smiled at him. "Just a few things I'm sure I'll need."

"That was almost funny."

"Why, thank you, I try."

"I'll bet."

Shikamaru, who looked irritated at their exchange, cleared his throat loudly. "Can we get going, please?"

_Wasn't he wearing headphones?_

Sasuke scoffed as he noted the situation from the rear-view mirror. But his mood quickly turned sour as he scowled to himself. No way in hell was he letting Kiba within five feet of Sakura. As beautiful as she was, he had little patience for Inuzuka being all over her all the time.

"You alright there, Hinata?" Naruto asked, jumping out of the car and helping her with her bag. She blushed and nodded silently. Sasuke growled in annoyance. This was becoming a love-fest.

"I don't care if you're done or not - we're leaving." Sasuke announced flatly and they quickly scrambled inside as he revved the engine.

"Jeez, cool it, Sasuke." Naruto commented offhandedly and Sasuke grit his teeth. This was going to be a long trip.

* * *

"We are not stopping again," Sasuke told the band of idiots in his car. They were just a few miles away from Suna now, and Uzumaki and Inuzuka were being girly little bitches again.

"But we're hungry," Kiba argued with a determined expression.

"We just ate," Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

"And I need to pee, Teme!" Naruto answered, waving his arms frantically. "Or I swear I'll go in your fucking precious car."

The car quickly skidded to a stop in front of the McDonald's outlet. "Out." Sasuke growled. "If you take longer than fifteen minutes, we're leaving without you."

Kiba and Naruto burst out of the car doors and sprinted towards the fast food outlet.

_Idiots_.

He lay back in his seat, massaging his temple. This whole trip was pathetic. Handling this group wasn't exactly his cup of tea. All he really wanted was to drive down to Suna to meet his girlfriend, surprise her with her best friend and just spend a good weekend with her. And what did he get? He got a fucking punishment for being a good, considerate boyfriend. He got coerced into bringing the Brady Bunch with him. _Fuck them all_.

"Jesus, Sasuke. What's up with you? You're remarkably crankier when Sakura isn't around." Ino informed him seriously, leaning forward from the backseat.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother him. He must miss her," Hinata told her quietly.

He sighed. Maybe Hinata was going to be the only person he wouldn't throw to the sharks right now.

"Straight to the hospital," he told them irritably. "We're not stopping anywhere anymore."

The silence stretched on for a while, allowing Sasuke to get his thoughts in order. This trip was beginning to feel like a thorn in his side, and he would soon erupt from the anger overload. He hoped it wouldn't be around Sakura, because he had wanted to surprise her, not scare her.

_Where are they?_ Sasuke wondered in annoyance after a few minutes as he honked the car twice.

"The heat's already killing me," Shikamaru complained in a lazy drawl. "On top of that, those two act like fucking babies every five minutes."

Sasuke had to agree.

"Say, Uchiha, let's _really_ leave them." Shikamaru offered generously, as he gestured to his wristwatch, showing him that their fifteen minutes were up.

Sasuke was beginning to like him a lot more now. "Aa."

"No." Ino shook her head, crossing her arms. "Seriously, I think it's you two who need to grow up. We can't just leave them in the middle of nowhere. No. No way."

"We can try," Sasuke replied, completely serious, his hand already on the gearshift. This trip might not be such a bad idea after all.

Hinata's pale eyes seemed to reflect worry as she said, "They might not be able to get back. We really shouldn't."

"Ah, fuck it. There here." Shikamaru declared with distaste.

Kiba grinned as he got in, both his hands full of bags of burgers. "Hey, miss us?"

Naruto got in - offered Sasuke a drink at which he just glared - and sighed. "Seriously, Sasuke, it was hardly fifteen minutes-"

"Twenty-one minutes." Shikamaru cut in, his eyebrows knotted together in a scowl.

"Shut up, Nara. I'm not even gonna comment on how you just completely copied that frown off Sasuke's face-"

"You just did."

"Shut up, will you? Anyway, Teme, You really are my best friend. You told us you'd leave, but I knew you wouldn't." Naruto said the happy smile etching onto his face.

Ino bit back a smile as she looked at Hinata. "That's seriously the guy you like?"

Clueless as ever, Naruto turned back to the girls. "Hinata likes a guy?"

God.

_Someone help me_, Sasuke thought as they took off from the lot, and picked up speed. The faster they got there, the faster he'd see Sakura, and the lesser time he'd have to spend with the King of all Idiots.

* * *

**Okay, AN OVERDUE VISIT was supposed to be a One-Shot, but after all your amazing feedback and the crazy PMs I got just to continue it, I decided to go ahead with it. **

**Yes, I know this chapter wasn't much SasuSaku, but that's because I wanted everyone's relationships with each other to be known, and there'll be tons of SasuSaku later on so don't worry. And I can promise Sakura's POV and a flashback for Sasuke and Sakura's more-than-friends-but-we're-not-dating soon.**

**So there were a few saying they wanted me to do a high school fic and a college fic. Well, I'll just say this: I already have a few things in the works, so they'll be coming up soon. :)  
**

**And I've put on a new story recently, check it out? :)**

**The next chapter for this will be out soon, as long as you guys review, of course :) NOT KIDDING. I NEED YOUR REVIEWS PEOPLE, THEY HELP ME WRITE. LOVE YA.  
**

**See you around. XOXO, lovelies.**


	3. And This Is How We Do - Part 2

It was almost one in the afternoon now, and after a while of driving around with the most annoying people he knew, Sasuke and the others were at a café to grab a quick bite.

But quick wasn't quick enough when he was trapped with _them_.

Sasuke swiftly chugged his glass of water before standing up. "Let's go."

"We just got here." Ino looked at him as if he were crazy. "Sit down and eat, you idiot. If you show up all undernourished, Sakura's going to throw a fit."

Sasuke had to hand it to her, she was right. "Skipping a meal doesn't exactly equal to undernourishment." He grumbled to himself as he sat back down.

She waved her hand impatiently. "Whatever. The thing is, I'm on a diet, and even I need an occasional pizza sometimes."

"You're always on a diet." Naruto quipped as he grabbed another slice of pizza and messily dug in.

"Shut up," she ordered as she signaled the waiter for a glass of water. "And use a napkin, you idiot - there's a reason they give those out. You eat like such an animal; I can practically see the cheesy bits flying."

"There you again acting like a stuck-up bi-" Naruto was cut off by a weary Shikamaru who smacked Naruto on the head.

"Please shut up, both of you," he said in a strained voice. "And she's right, Naruto. Eat like a human being. I'll never get the cheese out of my hair if you keep this up."

"Sor-_ry_, Rapunzel."

Kiba burst out laughing, exchanging high-fives with Naruto.

"Seriously?" Sasuke questioned Naruto with an expression in between confusion and disgust. "What was I fucking thinking when I told you to come along?"

"You were thinking about Sakura," Ino answered him with a serious face, as she put down her fork and knife. "And that's good too; at least I know you're not a complete loser boyfriend." She didn't seem to be affected by all the poking she was receiving from Hinata.

"I was out of my fucking mind."

"Stop being such a drama-queen, will you? That's _my_ job."

Before Sasuke could insult her with a renewed anger, Shikamaru cut in again. "Will you guys cut it out already?"

Sasuke leaned back in his chair and blew out a weary sigh. He had to shake them off somehow – but the problem was, they were smart. Well, at least Ino, Hinata and Shikamaru were. And maybe Kiba, to an extent.

It was plain and simple, really; he was stuck with them.

Unless he caught them by surprise.

Knowing he'd feel guilty about this someday, he discreetly reached for the car keys he'd placed on the table in front of him.

Suddenly, Naruto's hand plucked the keys off the table and Sasuke cursed.

Ino gasped. "Sasuke Uchiha, are you trying to get rid of us?"

Sasuke slumped back in his chair, turning his head away in disgust – not bothering to deny it. He was incredibly pissed at the fact that Naruto was on his toes, being alert and cautious.

_Ha, what a joke_.

He tried his best not to stare to hard at Naruto's jaw - the urge to punch it was eating away at him.

"Okay. Anyway… now that we're halfway there, it's time to discuss a few more pressing issues," Kiba announced, turning to Shikamaru, who simply groaned in irritation.

"Hey," Kiba said defensively, holding up his hands. "It's important, alright?"

Sasuke looked up, vaguely interested. Important, huh?

When Shikamaru was done glaring at him, Kiba cleared his throat. "Nara's ex-girlfriend."

Sasuke scoffed, losing all interest – but didn't miss the way Ino turned to Hinata, her eyes widened in alarm.

He growled in anger. By taking them along, he was taking in all their drama. All of this was surely going to come back to bite him in the ass soon enough.

"What about her?" Naruto asked, seeming honestly confused.

"Temari's in Suna, you idiot. Hell, she works at the same hospital as Sakura." Kiba explained to him with a serious expression.

Naruto still didn't get it. "So what?"

Kiba sighed in annoyance. "They were good together. They only broke up because of the distance thing, don't you remember?" He sat back in his chair, whistling. "Meeting her again – now that would be awkward. Sucks to be you, Nara."

Shikamaru looked ready to tear Kiba's head off in resentment. There was a moment of heavy silence.

"Doesn't matter," Sasuke spoke up with a scowl. "They broke up; the way I see it, they're better off that way." He grumbled, irritated that he'd been reduced to the peacemaker. And honestly, it was true. He and Ino clearly had a thing, and it saved him gas money for trips down to Suna. Reasonable.

"So…" Ino started casually as she wiped her hands on a napkin. "What are you going to do?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Nothing. We're done."

Hinata smiled encouragingly at him, and Naruto clapped him on the back enthusiastically. "See? No problem." Naruto declared loudly. Then he cast a look around the café and questioned with a wide grin, "Now are we leaving or what? Or am I the only one who wants to see Sakura?"

Sasuke stood up, throwing some money on the table, an appreciative feeling gnawing at him. "Now that's the smartest thing you've said all day."

"Race you to the car, Teme!"

"Idiot."

Kiba wobbled up from his seat in an attempt to catch up with them, "Hey, wait up!"

Shikamaru shook his head and as stood up and looked around the messy table they - or, more specifically, Naruto - had left, and knew that no large tip would be enough to cover it and decided to place some more money on the table. "Troublesome assholes…" he muttered quietly as he followed them outside.

Ino sighed. "Boys."

Hinata smiled gently. "Are you alright, Ino?"

She nodded. "You heard him. He said they're done."

Hoping he was right, she grabbed her handbag and stood up, walking towards the door with Hinata, now very unsure of what this entire trip entailed. She just hoped they would get to Sakura as soon as possible.

* * *

_1) Sakura was really pretty._

_2) She was kind._

_3) She was compassionate._

_4) She cared. She always cared._

_5) She was really, really pretty._

_6) She was very smart._

_7) She was-_

"Teme, you've been quiet for the past half hour!" Naruto's voice interrupted Sasuke as he was in the middle of listing the reasons why he was doing all this for her in the first place.

He clenched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel twice as hard, to keep his hands from tearing Naruto to shreds.

Why was he even best friends with him?

Because you think of him as your brother, he solemnly reminded himself. _Ha_.

Or maybe because killing him would mean Sakura would break up with him, Hinata would probably kill herself and Ino would slap him pretty hard-

"You're brooding again, aren't ya?" Naruto inquired, his voice louder than ever.

I should kill him, he decided. I can live with the rest.

Shikamaru yawned for the millionth time. "How long till we get there?"

It had been about ten minutes before when they'd crossed the border to Suna, and Naruto almost got them arrested for playing the music too loud and for talking back to an officer.

This trip was just full of heart-warming surprises. Sasuke didn't like surprises.

"Two minutes." He barked out.

Ino moaned as she fanned herself with a CD cover. "It's really hot here."

"Tell me about it," Kiba said, rolling down the window.

"What'd you expect?" Sasuke snapped at them. "It's Suna."

"Jeez, relax, Teme." Naruto said before he opened the car door and jumped out just as Sasuke was slowing down the vehicle in front of the gates and simply started walking ahead to the hospital right up ahead in a hurry to get there.

They barely took notice of Naruto. Their eyes were glued to the hospital.

And boy, was it big.

"It's huge," Hinata breathed in awe.

Ino nodded in agreement. "It is."

Kiba whistled as he gazed upwards to take in the sight of the height of the building.

Shikamaru didn't say anything, but he was clearly impressed as he looked sideways from the glass sliding doors to large expanse of grass on the right and the expensive vine plants growing along the chalk-white wall on the left.

It's good, Sasuke admitted to himself grudgingly. _Really_ good. The pessimistic thoughts in his head began to circle him in unanswerable questions. How could Sakura leave all this? She had to have liked it here, a good hospital was crucial for a good doctor, wasn't it? How would she ever want to leave at the end of the month?

He shook his head in disbelief. He'd thought he was being a good boyfriend? It was _her_ who hadn't even once mentioned how fucking good this place was.

As the four in the backseat got out, Sasuke simply sat in the car, watching the hospital with aversion.

Funny thing to be jealous of, he thought, frowning.

"Come on, Sasuke. If you hurry up, I won't tell Sakura that you almost left your best friend on the road!" Ino called out with an evil glint in her eye.

Naruto's head whipped around. "He _what_?"

"Shut up," Sasuke ordered to no one in particular as he got out, knowing Naruto wasn't going to let that one go too easily anytime soon. As he walked towards the sliding doors behind Ino, he dismissed all the unnerving thoughts of doubt from his head. He had to focus on Sakura now. They were _finally_ here.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Betrayal already forgotten, Naruto asked them as they caught up to him, Sasuke straying behind all of them.

The trip to Suna had been as annoying as hell - and though he wouldn't show it, Sasuke secretly appreciated having friends that were dead-set on visiting another country for Sakura, despite how hard he'd tried to get rid of them along the way.

Hands in his pockets, he picked up his pace behind them and the usual smirk made its way back to his face.

Not that he'd ever tell them, of course.

Only a second or two before he'd see Sakura again.

He's never felt better.

* * *

**SERIOUSLY. SO MANY OF YOU FOLLOW/FAVORITE THIS STORY, BUT DON'T REVIEW. THAT'S BAAAAAD.  
**

**I updated so early - shouldn't I get more reviews from you lovely readers? Honestly, this was faster than any update, ever. Get me reviews, people!**

**More reviews = faster updates. :)**

**See you around. XOXO, lovelies.**


	4. Hottest Female In The Hospital

This was the med-students exchange programme. Not the train-a-bunch-of-uninterested-kids programme.

The second batch of interns had arrived today, and much to everyone's shock and dismay, they were teenagers - no, high school-ers. Fucking _kids_.

When Sakura had taken this up with Temari, the blonde had simply shrugged, "Well, they're volunteers."

At Sakura's frustrated expression, she elaborated, "Hey, look, Sakura, all you first-batch interns are twenty, right? It's not that far off. Just show 'em around, alright?"

Sakura was nineteen, and Temari knew that. That bitch.

If she thought Sakura was done, then she had another thing coming. "They don't know what a scalpel is," she argued desperately. "I can't help them even if I wanted to."

Temari gave her a come-on look. But Sakura wasn't done, "I mean, what am I even supposed to do with them?"

Temari carelessly waved a hand, "I don't know, just have fun with it. Like, oh, you can't tell me you guys like going up and down nine floors just to get me a stupid file, hmm?"

Sakura had to smile. This girl had really did have her moments. "Alright," she said reluctantly. "But I'll be taking revenge soon, Temari."

The blonde administrator simply grinned as she stepped back inside her office, "Remember, be creative! Make them wish they never volunteered!"

Sakura had grinned fondly then, because she really liked Temari. But now? Ha. Sakura was going to sever that blond head of hers off her shoulders. Explaining everything to the helpless batch of seventeen-year olds was so _irritating_. Especially when _they_ didn't even want to be here. It had to be a dumb idea for some sort of an extra-credit thing for school, she decided. Not only that, but for the past week she'd been suffering from serious sleep deprivation, and this was definitely not helping.

She took a deep breath, wondering what she could do to get away for a while.

After dumping a bunch of paperwork at the horde of blank-faced kids masquerading as interns, she made a run for the elevator and waited for the fifth floor.

There, she made her way for the on-call room, and collapsed on the couch she loved so much.

"Looks like you just had your first turn with the High School-ers," the familiar voice commented. 'High School-ers' was certainly becoming a popular term for the second batch of interns.

Sakura opened her eyes to see Karin – her fellow intern – who was brushing her wild red hair into a ponytail and managed a weak smile. She liked Karin; the bold med-student from Oto.

Snapping a clip into place, she turned away from the mirror and sighed. "I told you they were bad."

"You were right," Sakura nodded weakly.

Kurenai – a dark-haired woman with beautiful eyes in her mid-twenties, a specialist in neurology, who was also from Konoha like Sakura – heard the exchange as she turned to them. "They can't be _that_ bad."

"They don't know what a scalpel is." Sakura stated calmly.

Both Karin's and Kurenai's eyes widened.

"Nobody's that stupid," Kurenai remarked, biting her lip.

After the initial shock, Karin shrugged. "Well, they're in high school. It's alright; they're not expected to know that stuff, right?"

Kurenai inquired curiously, "Then what are they even doing here?"

"It's Temari and her sick, twisted sense of humor," Karin concluded, nodding to herself. "Yeah, that's it. Though I don't know what she's thinking letting them roam the halls with nothing better to do."

"She wants us to use them," Sakura explained bluntly. "Paperwork, delivering files, fetching things, you know?"

"Huh," A slow smile began forming on Kurenai's face. "Not bad."

"So where you headed?" Sakura asked Karin curiously, who was tying up her sneakers.

"Oh, the first floor. I need to check on the patients there." Karin answered before groaning. "Temari's going to kill me for being so late, though, I swear."

Sakura smiled sympathetically and shrugged. "It's still better than dealing with the High School-ers."

There was a knock on the door just then, and a head poked in. "Um, is Miss Haruno here? You've got visitors, ma'am." Sakura vaguely recognized the girl as Azumi, one of the very few among the High School-ers who wasn't _completely_ hopeless.

Visitors? Ha. A definite ruse. The whole thing screamed ambush. They would be out there, waiting for her. The _High School-ers_. Call it paranoia but no way was she getting in it with them again. Not after _just_ getting away.

"I'm busy," Sakura murmured, drowsiness getting the best of her. She ruffled her hair, making herself comfortable on the couch, hoping to get some decent shut-eye for a little while.

Azumi cleared her throat. "Um, I really recommend that you see them-"

"And I really recommend that you close the door," Karin answered sweetly. "The air conditioning's on, you see. And it takes a long time to cool this place down."

Sakura met Karin's mischief-filled eyes and fought the urge to giggle.

_The girl reminds me of Ino so much, I swear_, she thought to herself with a smile.

As several people from the room began to leave, she grabbed a cushion from her right side, burying her head under it in order to drown out everyone's voices. It wasn't long before she felt herself drifting off to much needed sleep. Thank God.

* * *

She dreamt of him. Of course.

She dreamt that she was back in Konoha. That she had decided she truly didn't care enough about the hospital to stay in Suna, and she was back home. She'd gone over to his apartment immediately, and nearly melted at the sight of _him _opening the door. Sasuke. Her boyfriend. Her extremely rash, often jealous, moody, antisocial yet absolutely _lovelylovelylovely_ boyfriend. And how she felt in his arms - safe and protected - with that fresh scent of his lingering around her. She loved him _so_ much.

And that was the biggest source of disappointment when she woke up. That's why she tried so hard not to think about him - it was too hard. Way too hard when she was so many miles away. It was a distasteful reminder of all the things she'd left behind in Konoha - even if she'd be back there in a month, because a month was too, too long. It just reminded her of Sasuke, Ino, Hinata, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, Tsunade, her parents - all of them.

That last bit was always part of the routine, but right now as she woke up to the sounds of a muffled buzz, she couldn't shake off the weird feeling around her.

_What's that noise?_

Someone was talking, but the voice seemed faraway and soft. She hastily pushed the pillow and cushions away and her senses heightened instinctively. There was a voice on the speakers in the hall. It strangely sounded... familiar. Where had she heard it before? She silently wondered to herself, puzzled.

Deciding it was probably nothing, she dismissed the nagging feeling as she looked around her. She was alone in the on-call room, and after stretching out her arms above her, she noticed a Post-It note stuck on the back of her hand. She rolled her eyes because she knew something like this would be from Karin, and pulled it off to read the small, scribbled words.

_Nap as long as you feel like, Sleepyhead!_

_I got rid of the High School-ers - they're off doing chores for Kurenai. You can thank me later! Oh, and just get the file on the table to Dai (The really dumb, but absolutely gorgeous High School-er?) to give to Temari after he's done, would you?  
_

_-K xoxo_

She laughed wholeheartedly - Karin was really something. Their dislike of the High School-ers aside, Dai - the bold, daring, flirtatious teenager - was currently Karin's hot-male-of-the-week pick.

She sneezed suddenly, blowing away several feathers she didn't know were there next to her. Grabbing her pillow, she saw a tear down the side and frowned.

_Was that there before? _She wondered for a moment.

She then lay her head back on the armrest and sighed. She probably slept better here than she did at her apartment in Suna, and Karin knew that. Hell, she even offered to have her move in at her place, but Sakura wouldn't budge. Though living there really was a challenge. It was just always just so... _big_. It only made her feel more alone.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she heard that voice again outside - _so familiar_ \- and tried to focus on making out the words. Just where had she heard that voice? She suddenly pushed the blanket off of her in an urgent manner, for some reason needing to find out what it was that was so familiar about that voice outside on the speaker.

She stumbled over a balled up bunch of clothes and lab-coats and then grabbed onto the table to regain her balance. Quickly shoving on her sneakers and grabbing the file Karin had left on the table, she bolted for the door.

Opening it, she realized that instead of the usual procedures or schedules being announced on the speaker, the person was simply babbling incoherent gibberish. But as she stared hard at the speaker and continued to listen, Sakura caught what he was saying it once he cleared his throat and began again loudly.

"The lovely Sakura Haruno," he cleared his throat again. She knew of only one person who cleared his throat this much when he was uneasy. The speaker continued to blare, "We'd really like you to, um, report down to the, uh, first floor, 'cuz, um, 'cuz of patients and stuff. Um, yeah. So, please, if you're here, stop ignoring us and, um, come on over to the first floor. Uh, that's it." Stuttering. He stuttered so much when he was nervous. She'd already pretty much guessed who it was.

Her heart thudded against her chest in anticipation. Eyes wide and confused, she grabbed the doorknob and closed it behind her. _What was Naruto doing here?_

* * *

Naruto put away the mic quickly, knowing that someone was going to walk in anytime soon. He'd done his part well enough. Now if Sakura didn't come down, she was definitely avoiding them.

A thought that crossed his mind just then made his eyes widen in worry and had him scurrying out of the messy office he'd sneaked into faster than he'd intended. This was going to get ugly pretty soon, he was sure.

* * *

As soon as she at the elevator, she heard some one calling her name.

"Miss Haruno?" It was Azumi. She rushed forward, panting heavily. "Your guests have been waiting for about forty minutes on the first floor!"

Visitors? Well, there was Naruto. And maybe Ino? She knew it couldn't be Sasuke, as much as she wanted it to be - she knew he had an important Psych class today. She then stuck her foot between the elevator so it would open back again. "Where's Dai?" she questioned Azumi, remembering the file in her hands.

"First floor." Azumi answered her. Sakura was heading there anyway, so she nodded and waited for the elevator to close.

What was Naruto even doing here? Visiting? She shook her head. He'd call, wouldn't he? She searched her pocket to fish out her phone, but was taken aback when she couldn't find it.

_Crap. I think I left it at home_.

She scowled then, listing the things that seemed to be taking up most of her attention: Naruto was here. She didn't have a phone. Her head hurt. She then muttered a string of colorful curses her parents would definitely be surprised at, and decided that finding Naruto first was more important. The rest she'd deal with later.

She was finally here, on the first floor. As she marched over to the reception desk, she could see Dai standing there, presumably flirting with the receptionist, something he did everyday. Sakura shook her head in disbelief. He was what, seventeen? Eighteen? And he was flirting with a woman about ten years older than him. He was really a piece of work. She didn't particularly like him all that much - maybe because he flirted with anything female and breathing - but she could appreciate a smart person when she met one, and he was quite intelligent for a High School-er than he let on. She didn't know why he played it so dumb all the time when she knew for a fact that he was sharp enough.

But that didn't mean she liked him too much.

"Hand it to Temari when you've completed it," Sakura said shortly as she shoved the file to Dai.

"Hey-wait up!" He exclaimed. Sakura spun around, watching him impatiently. She still had to figure out why Naruto was here in Suna, and why the hell was he making announcements on the speakers of the hospital. She waited for Dai to say whatever it was quickly, but he simply ambled towards her and reached behind her. She raised an eyebrow, not knowing what he was doing. He pulled his hand back, and this time it had a Post-It note with him. He grinned as his eyes scanned the small scrap of paper and handed it to her, "I have to say I agree."

The bad feeling in the pit of her stomach doubled when she saw what he was talking about.

_Hottest female in the hospital. Back off or thou shalt be burned._

She winced as she read the tiny scrawl.

I will _kill_ you Karin, she vowed to herself. Her cheeks burned and she knew she was blushing. This was so freaking embarrassing.

"And what jungle did you hike through, really?" He gave a low whistle. She frowned, confused, before catching her reflection in the mirror the receptionist aimed her way. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair was a mess. Were those feathers in her hair? That _stupidstupidstupid_ pillow. She remembered how she hadn't even bothered to look in a mirror after getting up. Now, she desperately wished she had - she looked fucking psychotic.

Ready to bawl her eyes out, she sighed heavily. Dai smiled at her genuinely and reached towards her hair to pull out a feather. "You still look so pretty, though." He said absently, seeming almost distracted in awe.

Almost about to tell him off like she always did, she was interrupted by a sudden voice that rang out from behind her, clear and firm, "Back off, _kid_."

Sakura froze. No way. No fucking way. And then in that moment, she was happy, glad, pleased, delighted, ecstatic, content - because it didn't even take her second to recognize _that voice_.

Right now, Sakura had yet to turn to _him_, and she didn't even care that she looked like a mess.

It was so like _him_ to act like a jerk even to a guy _she doesn't even talk to_, she noted absently. She knew that right now she should be concerned for Dai's well-being, but she was so deliriously happy right now.

What could be better than this? Nothing. Nope, nothing at all.

* * *

**Everything was relevant.  
**

**If you were confused about anything, all will be explained in the next chapter. I know this one was a lot different, but it was just to kick things off in a different light. Anyway, Sasuke's here, obviously. So, thoughts?  
**

**I like this chapter, and the next one - which, I promise will be out quite soon.**

**The last chapter had the most reviews and I knew I had to update because you guys are really awesome. Review, okay? :)**

**And, on a side note: I want write One-Shots separately. Ideas/requests?  
**

**See you around. XOXO, lovelies.**


	5. Not Done With The Drama - Part 1

The receptionist had asked them to wait in the lounge about half an hour ago. Everyone was here, seated on the couches - Kiba was flipping through the channels on the flat-screen television with mild interest and Ino going through various magazines while Shikamaru and Hinata simply waited quietly. Sasuke had been moderately suspicious when Naruto had excused himself from the lounge and ran for the elevators, but when the speakers began blaring with his stupid blubbering ten minutes later, Sasuke and the others bolted straight up in their seats.

"What. Is. He. Doing." Sasuke scowled, listening closely.

Hinata, mildly confused, looked up towards the speaker, "Is that Naruto?"

Ino burst out laughing in disbelief. "Is he really doing what I think he's doing?"

"He's making Sakura aware of our presence the Naruto way." Kiba declared, a wary expression on his face as he listened as well. Shikamaru simply shook his head incredulously.

"I'm going to kill him," Sasuke stated blankly, his decision already made. He turned sharply to Hinata and Ino. "Don't you dare even try to stop me this time."

"Chill out, dude!" Ino chided, still trying to stifle her laughter. "He might've just done us a favor. Maybe now Sakura will know we're here and she'll get down here sooner."

"If he gets us in trouble and we have to run for it, then we have a solid reason to leave him here. Don't you dare open your big mouth and tell Sakura if it comes to that." Shikamaru told her nastily.

"Hey!" Ino cried, poking him hard in the chest. "What if we left _you_ behind, huh? How would you like it then?"

Sasuke nearly yelled at them to _shut the fuck up_, but before he could utter a word, Naruto was back and screaming in his face.

"Hey, look, I've done my best here, alright? Doesn't help that she's not answering her phone, and I was thinking - HEY, TEME! What if she's ignoring you? I knew it, she's breaking up with you, ain't she? Well, I guess she finally found out that you're gay! Maybe you should've just told-"

"Shut up, Naruto," Ino warned him in a low voice, staring at Sasuke's expression cautiously. She knew he would erupt soon and probably do something drastic, like seize Naruto-the-idiot's throat or whatever - but his gaze was fixed somewhere else, over Naruto's shoulder, his own homicidal threat to the blond already forgotten.

She spun around, watching his line of sight fixed on something pink. She gasped, bouncing in happiness. Sakura. _Finally_. She turned her gaze back to Sasuke, who seemed less than thrilled.

She took in his stiff shoulders and dangerously narrowed eyes. Ino tilted her head to the side, trying to figure out what was going on. _He travels miles and miles for her with us, and this is how he gets when he finally sees her?_ She shook her head, trying to understand what was wrong with him.

He was a weird one. What was going on?

Walking a little over to the door to get a good look at Sakura - who stood a considerable distance away - she gasped, finally understanding. There was a guy with Sakura.

_Like, within her personal space_.

And if that wasn't enough to rile Sasuke up - _whoa, was that his arm around her?_ If Sasuke's mood was bad before, all hell was going to break loose now.

"Stop him!" Ino managed a shriek just as Sasuke took a step towards the door.

Understanding dawning on him surprisingly quickly enough - that seemed to be happening a lot on this trip - Naruto threw himself on Sasuke just a moment before Kiba tackled Sasuke from behind. All three toppled on the floor, punching, kicking and swearing. Ino scrunched her nose at that - they were ruining their clothes. Ugh, boys. Well, it's not like it even mattered to them anyway - protecting a possible casualty, when Sasuke had changed the target of his death threat from Naruto to The Guy With Sakura, was a lot more important.

"I think that was a bad idea," Hinata said with quite concern reverberating in her eyes as she came up to stand next to Ino. Biting her lip, she gazed worriedly at the struggle on the floor. Ino looked away from the struggle and turned back to The Guy With Sakura and asked, "So was it better to have a dead body on our hands? That guy should be fearing for his life right now."

Sasuke chose that exact moment to haul Naruto off of him. "Get off me, you idiot!" He growled.

Ino rushed forward and latched onto his arm. No way was he murdering someone _in a hospital._ Shikamaru came up behind Sasuke and nudged him. "Don't, man. Really."

Shrugging both of them off, he began walking briskly towards Sakura, who had her back to him and hadn't seen him yet. Admittedly, he would've liked to surprise Sakura the right way, but the situation called for his assistance. His five-foot-nothing girlfriend couldn't fend off a fucking _kid_ on her own. He couldn't imagine how she'd managed to live _thirty whole freaking days_ without him.

"Back off, _kid_," Sasuke growled, barely paying attention to the surprised look on the guy's face - he was slightly more focused on someone else.

Turning back slowly, biting her lip, he saw her. _About time_, he thought to himself.

The long, pink strands of usually perfect hair were disheveled, and her bright green eyes were bordering on sleepy and crazy red. He was so close - _finally_ \- that he could smell that scent of her, that refreshing citrus tinge. Even with her hair not perfect, her eyes resembling that of a demented killer's, in those light blue scrubs she wore - she was fucking beautiful. And he wasn't just saying that. It was true. So, unbelievably fucking true. Not that he doubted it for a second, but it was just that more evident by how that _kid_ still couldn't take his eyes off her, wearing the same expression all those lovesick idiots did whenever she walked right past them without giving a damn.

He smirked at her, wanting to say something that he knew would rile her up, "You look... different."

Instead of answering him with her fists, she sprung over and buried her face to his chest, Dai already forgotten. "_What the hell are you doing here?_"

"Felt like it." He shrugged.

She giggled, "You don't ever change, do you?"

He looked down at her, wondering what the hell was wrong him to ever really let her get away. _This_ is what he wanted; her in his arms, looking at him like she was so fucking happy. He leaned forward, betting she wanted to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her.

She darted a quick glass around him, and giggled again. "Aw, Sasuke, you've come bearing gifts."

Fuck. He'd forgotten about _them_.

"Sakura!" Ino pounced on them, while Hinata being more respective for Sasuke's space waited for him to actually let go of Sakura before hugging her. Sasuke just shook his head at Ino's brashness.

Then came Naruto with a, "It was my idea, all from the very beginning, Sak!" then Kiba, "Hey, babe, long time no see!" and Shikamaru with a half smile and much more mellow, "Hey."

He was beginning to hate his '_friends'_, he knew that well. But at least they were finally here with Sakura now, and he was drama free, thank God.

A sharp ding of the elevator had them all turning around with mild interest, halting their welcome conversations with Sakura, and Sasuke too followed their line of sight.

A tall blonde woman stepped out in a lab coat, heading straight for them. "Jesus, Sakura, what's all this fuss in the hospital about?"

Sasuke watched as the blonde gave them a once over, doing a double take once she saw Shikamaru. He saw Hinata give Ino a sympathetic glance, he saw Ino squeeze Sakura's hand tightly with worry evident on her face, he saw Kiba mouth _I told you so_ to Naruto, and he saw Shikamaru go slack jawed and freaking brain dead at the sight of the blonde.

He had no fucking idea what was going on.

Sakura took that moment to clear her throat, "Hi, Temari."

_Jesus Christ_, Sasuke swore. He wasn't going to get rid of the drama any time soon.

* * *

**Hiiii. Sorry doesn't even begin to cover it. I know I disappeared completely, but that's because college started up - which is why this fic was on hold and why this update was short. I promise I'll be updating tons more in May and onwards. Thank you so much for supporting this up till now, especially Anonymous Starbucks Lover and Raikiri80. A shout out to you guys for being awesome!**

**Do review!**

**-Lexy**


	6. NOTE

**Note:**

Hey, guys. I know it's been quite a while and I'm sorry for that, really, I am. But I've been writing off and on the past year and have been super busy with so many projects happening, all of this during college, and it's been crazy. I had no idea it'd been this long so it was surprising when I went through the PMs all asking for this story.

To begin, I read this story recently and cringed every time there was repetition, adjectival misuse and error (which was a _lot_, by the way).

In plain terms: it sucks.

The thing is, I really don't plan on continuing anything I started before 2015.

But I did make promises, and there are still a few sweethearts who have faith in **AOV**, so if you want me to go on with it, I'll begin by going back and editing all that crap that made me cry and wonder if I actually wrote that (seriously, no joke), and make it better.

I'll do that if people actually still wanna read this thing, haha. PM me and let me know. Till then, check out my new fic **Killin' It** (which is definitely post-2015 and nothing like **AOV**).


	7. Not Done With The Drama - Part 2

Sasuke stalked back inside the apartment, having completed his inspection.

"It's okay," he concluded as he walked back into the lounge where everyone was. He dropped down on the couch next to Sakura and draped his arm along the back to let her lean into him.

He could smell her shampoo.

Yes, this was infinitely better than Skype-calling.

"Okay? _Okay?_ Are you, like, high?" Ino demanded.

"Yeah, dude," Naruto agreed, barely moving his eyes away from the basketball game playing on the plasma screen. "This place is the bomb."

"It's alright." Sakura said before reaching out for her glass of soda on the table and taking a sip. "Nothing's better than home, though."

Sasuke felt one side of his lips kick up. The fact that Konoha was still home to her was fucking fantastic.

Just then, a cell phone started ringing. Everyone looked towards Shikamaru, who pulled out his cell at a leisurely pace, looked at it and groaned.

"Hinata? You forgot your phone at home or something?" He asked.

The girl in question blinked. "Yes. How did you know?"

"Well, because the older Hyuga cousin is calling and I don't really have a good feeling about this."

Ah, Neji.

Great.

Since Naruto wouldn't lower the volume of the TV, Shikamaru trudged his ass to the outer balcony to take the call.

Immediately, Sakura, Ino and Hinata shared a look and hustled their asses out of the lounge and into the first room down the hall.

What the fuck was even happening?

But then again, Sasuke knew better than to find out, considering girl-shit was sure as hell off-limits.

Kiba walked in from the kitchen with a large bowl of popcorn in his hands. He looked around before settling down beside Naruto on the rug.

"What's happening? Where is everybody?" Kiba asked them and Naruto answered him, his eyes still glued to the TV.

"Neji's unleashing all holy hell on Shikamaru via phone and the girls are convening to talk out and dissect his shit with Temari."

Jesus Christ.

Of all people, _Naruto_ understood clearly what was going on, that is, _girl shit_, and the guy didn't even have a girlfriend.

There was something clearly very, very wrong here.

There was something off about this entire trip.

Because Naruto was way too _aware_.

No, Sasuke was not going crazy.

Maybe.

"Oh, yeah," Kiba laughed. "What do you think is gonna happen with that?"

"No idea."

Sasuke grunted an agreement. Because really, who the fuck knew?

Not him, that was for sure.

After the entire situation at the hospital (in the aftermath of all which he realized that the blonde they'd seen was Temari, as in Shikamaru's ex, Temari), they drove to Sakura's place and settled in.

They'd settled in by Ino shoving all her bags inside and claiming Sakura's room for the girls to share, Hinata had quietly moved to the sofa and Shikamaru had examined the apartment slowly while Naruto attacked the television and Kiba raided the fridge, all this happening while Sasuke and Sakura made out like fucking kids on front step.

He still had a lot of time to make up for with his girlfriend.

And he had all the intentions to do so.

Not long later, the door bell sounded and Naruto perked up.

"Visitors?" He suggested and Kiba shrugged.

"Let's check it out," Naruto said and Sasuke stood up too.

They made their way to the front door to see the girls already there and Sakura was on her phone.

"Thanks again for bringing it by… Yeah, I know. I always forget. I'm an idiot… Hey, why don't you come up?"

At this, Ino narrowed her eyes in a glare at Sakura.

"Oh come on, it's no big deal… Seriously, come up. Or I will never talk to you again, how's that sound? And that's not playing dirty or anything either… Okay, whatever, would you just get up here for a cup of coffee?"

Ino was practically flailing now and Hinata had to hold on to her.

"Good," Sakura nodded decidedly and slipped her phone in the pocket of her jeans. She reached for the door just before Ino latched on to her arm.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

Sakura then sighed and looked at Naruto. "Could you get the door please, Naruto?"

"Uh, sure," Naruto frowned in confusion before hurrying to let whoever it was in.

Sasuke was just as much at a loss.

Then Sakura turned back to Ino. "You refuse to talk to Shikamaru about it. You refuse to let _us_ talk to Shikamaru about it. This way, we'll know. And also, this isn't the first time I've forgotten my bag at the hospital, and so this isn't the first time she's swung by on her way home to drop it off. So I've invited her up before for coffee a lot of times. Which is, like _always_."

Now Sasuke had a pretty good idea who their late visitor was.

"But… But…" Ino sputtered.

"You guys are talking about Temari, right?" Kiba questioned. Sasuke had pretty much guessed the same too.

"Yeah," Hinata said absently.

Then walked in Naruto with a huge-ass grin and the female in question behind him.

She was tall, blonde and pretty. She also lab coat on which reminded Sasuke of the awkward as all hell incident at the hospital. Even though he hadn't exactly recognized who she might have been at the hospital right off the bat, he'd felt the discomfort of everyone and also the silent ride to Sakura's place.

He'd actually preferred the ride to Suna instead of that.

Not that he'd _ever_ admit that.

Temari cleared her throat, "You really don't have to do this, Sakura. You know your place is on my way so it's no big deal and—"

"Hey, you get me my bag and I get you coffee. It's our ritual, right?" Sakura smiled kindly before looking back up at everyone. "Let's go and get something warm to drink, guys."

* * *

They all sat in the lounge, alternating between sipping their coffees quietly and staring at each other.

Sasuke's pretty sure that this was the entire reason they'd escaped at the hospital, to avoid further awkwardness.

Sakura snuggled in, wrapping an arm around him. Naruto sat at a surprising distance from the remote control but his face unsurprisingly said that all this was better than TV. Kiba just kept stuffing his face with popcorn and coffee which was disgusting, but then again, he didn't seem to mind. Hinata sat next to Sakura and Ino sat on the sofa right across from Temari.

Shikamaru wasn't here yet from wherever he'd gone off to, which Sasuke was glad for, because really, how much weird drama could one take?

Ino cleared her throat to cut the silence. "I like your shoes," she said begrudgingly to Temari.

"I really like your top," Temari said back and suddenly it was like the ice was broken because Ino grinned huge at her.

Then Sakura said something about Lucky jeans and Hinata said something about shoes and immediately, the girls were talking all at once.

Jesus.

Naruto made a face at him. "I'm out," he mouthed, got to his feet and headed down to bedroom appointed to him for the night.

Sasuke got up too, but it wasn't to go to sleep.

It was to find Shikamaru, who'd been suspiciously gone for over forty-five minutes.

Sasuke sighed tiredly.

He was always playing babysitter when it came to all of them.

* * *

**um, hey.**

**how's everyone doing?**

**this story's pretty much lost its charm to me, but i'll see it through to the end. instead of going back and editing (because that'll take to much time, something i don't have a ton of), it'll carry on like it's been carrying on (just without too many errors).**

**thanks to everyone who put in their votes and to the loyal reviewers :) AOV is going to end soon and ****updates are probably going to continue being irregular, but till then, you could check out my other sasusaku fics.**

**happy holidays.**

**-lexy.**


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